4/16/12

Fashion Flashback Faux Pas (FFFP) - Oops, no pants!

I've always been known for having my own style - sometimes this is a good thing; sometimes not so much. Since I usually post about my more "successful" outfits, I figured you guys could use some laughs and see some of my more unusual choices from my outfit archive.

Most of these outfits have a story behind them but some were just straight up bad choices. If I can find pictures to attach, I promise I will - if not, I will try to find some kind of visual to give you an idea how it call came together.

Growing up, I was obsessed with Benetton. I had to have everything from there. At the time, they were known for their layering pieces in different colors, patterns and textures. Featured outfits in the ads/stores showed patterned sweaters layered with bright polo shirts, plaid skirts and striped thigh-high socks. I LOVED this look...I had to have every piece and the crazier the mixture of patterns, the better. Although out of everything one of my favorite pieces were the striped thigh-high socks - something EVERY 8 year old should have, right?!?

Since it was the 80's, I was also very into spandex/stretch pants - now known as leggings. I had just about every single color you could imagine - EXCEPT black and white striped which I could not find anywhere. These are kind of like what I wanted...

One evening while selecting my outfit for the next day to go with my brand new black, off the shoulder sweatshirt (it was the 80's, ok??), I realized I NEEDED to have that pair of striped leggings. Back then, and I guess still to this date, there are some items I will obsess about until I buy them or find them. In this case, my outfit was not going to be complete without those leggings!

Then all of a sudden I had the genius idea to wear my Benetton thigh-high striped socks and put on a pair of neon pink ankle socks over them to make them look just like striped leggings! I put the outfit together and was very pleased with the overall look. I could barely sleep that night - so excited to wear my new outfit to school.

At school the next morning, one of my friends commented on how cool my new "pants" were and asked me where I got them. Proud of my creativity and resourcefulness, I happily revealed my secret to her - they weren't pants but rather really long socks! My confidence instantly vanished when she replied, "So you're like not wearing any pants - just socks and a shirt??" It wasn't until that moment that I realized, I was - in fact- at school and not wearing any pants!

Now one could say my shirt was technically a "dress" and therefore the outfit was essentially the same as wearing a dress/skirt with high socks, but I could not shake the overall feeling that I was totally inappropriate and a borderline "flasher."

I can't remember how it all went down but I do remember around lunchtime, my mom showed up to my classroom and brought me a pair of bright purple 80's style running shorts (kind of like these) to put on under my shirt. Even though no one could see the difference (they were pretty short), I felt much better knowing I had some coverage. Oh and in case you were wondering, with the addition of the short-shorts, the entire outfit became one of my faves and was worn many, MANY times again!

The moral of this FFFP story: It's OK to get creative for fashion - just don't forget to wear pants!

If you want a modern day (less 80's) look using stripes, leggings and some neon, I would recommend something more along the lines of this: